As a result, competition for food between Malawians and wildlife is fierce, and have caused many deaths in recent years.

There are currently no perimeter fences to contain elephants and prevent them from raiding adjacent farms Photo: Alamy

Peter Fearnhead, chief executive of African Parks, which was asked to take over the running of the park last month, said the level of human-wildlife conflict in Liwonde was “almost unprecedented”.

"There are two primary causes of the current conflict: the absence of any perimeter fence to contain elephants and prevent them from raiding adjacent farms, and the illegal entry by numerous individuals on a daily basis wanting to harvest the parks resources,” he said.

“Solving this conflict is extremely urgent for both the communities living around Liwonde and the wildlife within the park.”

African Parks has embarked on an ambitious plan to fence the entire 80-mile perimetre of the park which they estimate will take 18 months to complete. The group has also launched elephant patrols to push the pachyderms back into the protected area and prevent raids on crops.

Anti-poaching patrols and community education projects also aim to protect the wildlife, following the deaths of two elephants in the park.

African Parks was also involved with the reintroduction into Rwanda of the first pride of lions since the 1994 genocide.